anybody ever do study abroad in Europe?

if you have ever studied abroad in Euorpe, please PM me or just leave a comment!



I am signed up to study abroad in Torino, Italy this coming fall. So if anyone has studied there, or knows anything about Italy, or just studying abroad in general, I would love to hear form you. I need all the help and advice I can get on this subject!

THanks!
​

 

Wow! - That sounds really awesome...

I've never studied abroad, so sorry i couldn't be of more help - just thought i'd let you know that i thought it's really cool that you're doing so.

Best of luck!

 

I WAS going to study abroad this summer in Spain, but my parents decided to have a spaz attack about ETA and not let me go, even though that's not even a threat to me. >.< So now I'm doing a global politics summer scholars program at the University of Miami instead.

I would suggest, however, that if Italian is not your native language or the language your parents speak to find some bilingual Italian friends who can help you out with slang and stuff. I've found that my learned Spanish tends to sound stuffy and weird to most Spanish-speaking people so learning slang and colloquialisms really helps. It will also make the experience more comfortable to you. Also, make a pact with yourself not to speak any English, not even to any English-speaking classmates. That will make you reliant on the language and not default back to English, which kind of spoils everything, especially if you want to achieve any level of fluency.

 

why thank you!!

im a bit nervous about it and the fact that i'm going hasn't totally sunk in yet, though i'm sure when i'm getting on the plane it will!

 

the ETA? i have never heard of that... sounds kind of ominous though

anyway ,

that is a good idea, to make a pact not to speak any English. that will definitely help me to learn the language better. i had never thought of doing that, thanks so much!
also good point about learning slang, i will definitely have to keep that in mind!

 

ETA is a separatist Basque terrorist group in Spain. It really has no power anymore and they don't target civilians and normally call the police to warn them to clear the area first. Most of the Basque people don't support it and it's really not THAT big of a deal from what I can tell.

Glad I could be of help to you for the rest. ^_^ I'm planning on spending at least a year abroad in college (1 semester in Spain, 1 semester in Latin America) so I've researched alot of things about what you should or shouldn't do, not to mention having some amazing French and Spanish teachers that always give pointers about that kind of thing. Good luck with planning your trip. =)

 

hey glitter stardust.. i am doing study abroad in bologna right now.. i posted on your torino question in the europe forum, then i saw this one too.. i'm following you =). anyway, study abroad is soooo cool!! you are going to love it. when i first arrived in italy, i was a little freaked out (like everyone who studies abroad), but within two or three months i had fallen in love with italy and the wonderful people who live here.

as for advice, i would say the main thing is to relax! there is really nothing to worry about. i had taken a year of italian before i came... it was not enough as my italian was HORRIBLE when i arrived... and on top of that, i was embarrassed to even try to speak it because it was so bad.. don't do that! just speak, speak, speak... they are so cool here and will really try to help you get better. now, my italian is far from perfect, but it's getting better all the time. about slang and stuff, i can help you with that if you want.. but also, as soon as you make italian friends, those will probably be the first words you learn. even if you don't drink coffee, do it while you're here.. it's a cultural thing and it's wonderful. buy your bicycle for 10 euros from drug addicts on the street. oh, one really important one is to find an apartment with italians.. i live with three italians and i would say that living with them has given me the most cultural insight. try not to get involved with sicilian men (j/k!! my boyfriend is from sicily... he is a prime example of the reputation of the men from the south.. jealous with a horrible temper.. and the most passionate, strongwilled person ever.. sometimes it is hard to make jokes with him because of this..). learn to cook.. not just pasta! oh, and get used to not having a microwave, dishwasher, garbage disposal, or dryer.. because 9 times out of 10 you won't have any of those things.

i don't know i came here with the "when in rome, be roman" mindset.. it has worked great for me. you will fall in love with the italian lifestyle! i keep writing you all these long posts, but i feel i can't say enough about study abroad.. especially in italia!! I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU! and jealous, because my time is almost up =*(. don't worry about anything.. you will not regret this!!! also, you will learn a lot about YOU. which is way cool. anyway, hope this helps.. the main thing i want to say is that there is nothing to be nervous about. oh, and by the way, i don't think it hit me that i was in italy until about a month a half after i had been here!! not even when i got on the plane did i realize what i was doing.

 

Wow Marble... I completely respect you for going to study abroad after only one year of taking the language. That's awesome. I've been studying Spanish for almost 6 years and I still would probably curl up in a ball and cry for weeks if I went to Spain. Well, not really. I would get fat(ter) because I'd just eat all the time because if I can do anything, I can order food in Spanish. Very good advice, though.

 

wow marble, thank you so much for writing back about this!

thanks for all the general advice and all. i regret that i have not taken any Italian yet, but i have bought some language tapes, you know those 'learn italian in 10 days' type of things? so i will be listening to those throughout most of the summer. hopefully then i can have at least some idea of the language before i go.

and that is a great idea about buying a bike!! really, i never even thought of that. i will definitely keep that in mind!
also i can totally relate to sortof, how shall i say it, being in denial about the whole thing? it hasn't hit me yet, that i am going. i tell people that i'm going, i read about italy, i talk about it, but i can't honestly take to heart that I WILL be living there for 8 months...... it's just such a big thing.....
so i haven't gotten that nervous about it, just YET... hopefully i won't, and i appreciate so much that you are there now and can say that there is nothing to worry about. unforunatley i am the type of person who is prone to worrying so i am sure that i will worry anyway....
but i think the thing i worry about most is the plane ride there....... i really hate planes, they are scary to me and 8 hours in one is enough to make me extremely unhappy.

but anyway,,,,,, how long are you there for?
i will be there sometime in late august, but i haven't booked my flight just yet so i dont know when.
well feel free to PM me or just post here, and thanks again!